In university hostels the month begins with 555s and Marlboros, by the late 20s it comes to beedis – traversing Classic, Wills Navy Cut and choti Gold Flake on the way. The best time for a beedi is when you are drenched wet and the best part is that even the poor labourer doesn’t mind giving you one from his bundle. This selfless sharing is also evident (to a much greater extent) amongst khainikhanewalas. Coming back to the beedi, the Who’s Who wouldn’t like to be seen puffing one (with the exception of actors – oh! now even they can’t) least the others say Who’s That? But the bags they come packaged in demand a high price. Overstock.com is selling ‘Bidi Bags – Vintage Indian Ad Canvas Totes‘ for a listed price of $30. The actual selling price is 33 per cent lower (the trick always works). There’s also the Kayam Churana bag on sale.

For the uninitiated the website also provides the features, usage and translations: